Rodney

Perhaps this is a case of the blind leading the blind then. Would you like me to change this topic's title?

Yes, but is that in all Rotoscope views? (I'll guess 'yes' here but don't know. I'll check on my end though) Edit: Thus far I haven't been able to get the Bias Handles not to show behind Rotoscopes in a Modeling window. All is working as expected on my end with v17g. I verified this in both 32bit and 64bit.

Umm... no. Testing just opened. The only thing I'm facilitating right now is access to a forum area where folks can discuss the Beta release without generating a ton of noise for the rest of the forum. Access to the v18 Beta Alpha release is still as outlined in the first post of this topic. Since I don't know who sends a request I'm simply asking who wants access to the v18Beta forum. Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with gaining access to the release of A:M (never have and likely never will). There is A:M the program and the A:M Forum. Jason Simmons is the primary point of contact for A:M related issues. I just tweak the forum. Sorry for any confusion.

...and fortunately for us computer graphics is the ultimate controlled environment. I was just reviewing some of the earlier contests, like the Losts Worlds contest, and while none of them would have fit very well 'as is' as a splash screen all of them could have been made to work well by using a contour mask/matte. Granted, that mask would be a bit hard to make directly in A:M but with tools like A:M Composite's Exposure or HSE (Hue, Saturation, Exposure) Post Plugins those masks aren't as hard to make as they once would have been.

Nicely done Jim! There are so many things I need to take advantage of in A:M. This is right up there in priority as it's a great way to create environmental effects that make events seem to take place in real space. Thanks! P.S. The volume was really low on the tut at my end and I increased the volume with another program. If anyone has that same issue with volume let me know and I'll post that.

I believe all requests to access the forum to this point have been processed. If you are a tester and don't have access launch me a Private Message, email or simply post here and we'll get you access. I recommend everyone log out/login again to the forum after being granted access. This will ensure that no older settings are preventing access. Happy testing!

I tend to dial down the transparency of any rotoscopes I use. (Usually between 66% and 88% will do) In that way I see more of the model I'm working on (or in your case referencing) rather than the roto. Edit: Are you saying you can see the Bias Handles fine in other roto views but not in the top view?

You are right. There are only so many hours in a day so you have to set priorities. Writers have to write and if they don't they won't have any stories to share. I believe your current trailer as it is suffices for what you set it out to achieve. Our input here is just meant to answer your request for feedback on where to focus should you redo the trailer. But let me say that rather than endlessly re-edit where you've already been I believe you'd be much better served to move on to the next priority (whatever that may be). That'd also have the added benefit of giving fans of your stories more cool stuff to experience. As the Beast that is Caged (Keith) suggested, if you just want to bring the current trailer up to date you can cut out a few of the dated shots and/or unnecessary frames.

Wow Mark. Very impressive!

Chuck Williams and Aaron Blaise have launched a kickstarter to fund the initial creation of their current effort; a movie called "Art Story". But that isn't what I'm posting about here... Previously to this effort Williams and Blaise were working at the ill fated Digital Domain on several other story ideas. During that process they recorded a TEDx presentation about their creative process in creating their stories. hSIfGs-DGQ Some concepts covered: Starting out Spaghetti Pitches Inspiration Capturing Moments Evoking Emotion (Emotional Experiences) Research/Reference Connecting with Real Life Beat Boards Non Linear Creativity Characters Character Cards Backstory Actor Types Traits Plot Three Act Structure Principles of Storytelling/Structure Shaping through Comparisons (to other stories/movies) Constant exchange of ideas Stringing the Story together Theme (What you want to say... the most important part of the storytelling process) Making choices based on the Theme Illustrating the Beats Pitching the Ideas Incorporating Emotion/Acting Story Evolution Scripting Breaking Acts down into Scenes Storyboarding Emmersive Research Refinement/Replacement Re-Storyboarding Presentation Condensing Millions of ideas into moments of animated magic Those are some of the interesting things I took away from their presentation. Perhaps the most important take away is that creativity is a process we keep plugging away at every day.

...or re-render. Many of A:M splash-screens have not been the same image as the one submitted for the contest. After winning, the pose of the character(s) was adjusted/adapted.

I'll add this into the mix.... Directing the audience is essential and there are many tools to aid us in orienting them (or purposefully confusing them). A problem arises when we unintentionally confuse them. Case in point is the camera hookup right out of the gate where the mining craft piloted by the narrator is seen moving toward camera. This is a nice shot and it really grabs our attention. Kudos to you. The trouble arises when the camera cuts to another short shot of the back of the pilots head (presumably) piloting the vessel forward (now away from us). This by itself wouldn't be bad (i.e. you could recover from it) but the next few shots all return to the orientation of the first shot but now in a close up that allows us to see the narrator/pilot as he is directing his effort forward (again, toward us). It is interesting to note that (more or less) you do have the proper placement of the character on screen. It is the direction and momentum in opposing directions that loses us. In the attached image I've tried to illustrate your camera's current hookup and what might be a more progressive hookup that effectively zooms in on the pilot/narrator across the cut. Note that in the current sequence we might expect to see something there inbetween the first and second shots... such as what the pilot is mining for. But as we don't have time to see that and it's not really the point we are moving toward in the current narrative, a more progressive movement might be called for that keeps us in a conscious level of contact with the pilot. Shortly after this the camera literally zooms out to a shot that reveals our narrator is actually mining for something on an asteroid orbiting around the Earth. Now that is cool! Too bad we were too disoriented to catch what was happening though. Our confusion continues at the point where the asteroid explodes and the voiceover of the narrator introduces us to the idea that 'new friends' arrived on scene (I am presuming they saved him from death... which is why I presume he's taking the time to tell us). But here again we encounter another problem with orientation. Bear with me as I try to explain this... as it's not immediately obvious. The sequence with the asteroid blowing up has the Earth on the left and space on the right. The debri from the explosion goes out in all directions. So far so good. But the debri from the explosion as seen in the next shot is seen moving from right to left... toward the earth. The problem here is that the 'new friends' then would have to have been between the asteroid and Earth in the previous shot... which they obviously were not. Flipping this shot where debri strikes the 'new friends' spaceship would create the correct orientation as well as fit in with the idea that these new friends are arriving on or approaching Earth (i.e. moving from Space... on screen right... to Earth... on the screen left). I hope that makes sense and... as always... this is for what it is worth.

It looks like I need to give my entry one last push to get it into shape. So... this week my task shall be to make it more mascotty ™. Good luck A:Mers! There are a ton of folks who have created cool characters that I know aren't going to enter the contest. I wish they would because their characters would make ideal mascots.

Please pass on my congratulations to your wife and daughter. They come across as both entertaining and knowledgeable. You all make a great team I hope you all have as much fun putting these together as I do watching them. Color me intrigued!

Another impressive episode Dan. You cover a whole lot of information in these videos. 'Metroid Other M' looks like a really fun game! Too bad we don't have more folks interested in gaming around here. Someone needs to model that suit (and other props from these games)! You've got me intrigued. This may be a secret but, I figure you are the voice of Tech and (hopefully) yourself. And Gwen is your wife (right?) Whose the voice of Game? Fun stuff! Keep 'em coming!

I don't know who all signed up so you weren't part of the v18 group. Try again now and see if you don't have access.

Rusty, Your first link (to www.thespiralslayer.com) doesn't work for me. The second one worked fine though. My initial thought would be to strive for clarity throughout and as such I'll offer the following: Most folks don't know what a Tetralogy is so while it's fine to have that word attached to the product I'd be more in favor of "a stunning four part series" where the word 'stunning' is whatever you want to spotlight for this particular portion of the Tetralogy. I would consider steering clear of 'tetraology' mostly if the fouth in your series is not a satire. In other words, in a strict sense of the term 'Tetralogy' seems to imply a recipe (in the old greek form) of three parts Drama followed up by one part Satire. As I assume the last of the series is not satirical the word may still fit but you still have to contend with the fact that the average person does not know that a tetralogy consists of four parts without looking up the term. If covering the first of four stories in a series you could simply state, "the first in a four part series" or if you really want to use the word something along the lines of "the first of a four part tetralogy". At least in this last form the basic definition of what a tetralogy means is supplied too. At any rate, don't get too caught up there or else your audience will too. Always strive for clarity. It is along this same line of clarity that I would continue to refine your trailer. First, let me say that I think the trailer delivers the current message well (that you are offering a four story). The question then becomes one of whether or not this delivers the message you intend. I will assume it does. (i.e. you are purposefully trying to intrigue the audience by keeping things a bit vague... suggesting that they want to follow up by pressing into the series, by reading the books or by watching additional trailers or the next installment/TV series/comic book/blockbuster movie. I have some additional thoughts here but... let's move on. I would strive for utter clarity in the fonts presented on screen. The 3D lettering effect is a bit distracting and it makes the words harder to read as is the specialized font style in general. In general, I would reserve special fonts for the title only or places where they specifically lend themselves to the story (example: a spacecraft with the worn out and fading lettering of it's christened name painted in bold lettering on the side of its hull, computer screen text or alien lettering that is by design still humanly readable or at least decipherable. So that would be my number one suggestion: Limit the text/fonts to the bare minimum necessary and make sure they are easily readable. This would seem to validate your decision to jettison the credits at the end... they aren't easily readable. Perhaps instead you could point the viewer to somewhere where they could read more. Personally I like your intro graphics up to the point where 'Virtual Media'/'Bookreel' appears. When you move to the Book 1 title things get unreadable. This is due to several things (moving text, non standard fonts/lettering, too many words for too little time on screen, etc.) I hesitate to make this suggestion but... a consideration... for whatever its worth: That alone would suffice but I understand that you want to plug the whole series so, the alternate: There is something a bit odd about two of these titles in that I'm not sure if you intended the 'O' in 'The Odyssey' to be capitalized. Similarly, I assume you desire "War Lords" as two distinct words instead of "Warlords". Works for me either way... I think I prefer the two word version... as long that it appears as the actual title you prefer and is not some unintended typo. One thing you could do is to start with the first title card that only lists book one and then at the end of the trailer list all four. This would be apt as the trailer itself focuses on just the first book but you want to emphasize that there are three more. Having the title card appear again later but with the other three added would not only allow for progression it would serve your intended purpose to emphasize the tetrology aspect of your story. This seems key to gaining the audiences interest, especially for those that will want to know that they can not only sink their teeth into not just one... but four stories! That is the hook that might get them interested and keeps them going. "Neat story. What? There are three more? Where do I sign up?!? I'm in." Moving on... you say you'd like to work on desaturating the imagery. I find that the most common theme in most amateur work is a lack of contrast (specifically black) in their imagery. I don't mean this as applied strictly to your trailer as much as simply in general across the board. (you have a lot of black in your trailer... it does take place in space after all) Ultimately, to be successful in composition I feel there must be a background, a middle ground and a foreground. If for any reason there is not... it must be very intentional. This is important in still images and stories but specifically in animation (and trailers) it implies there will be a transition between these various elements. The good news... you've got all of these elements in your current trailer! But how to emphasize them more... that is the objective. (In my view, this will take a bit more than just desaturation but you've got the elements present, you just need to exaggerate them to the point of clarity). Here is the deal on this aspect of clarity: The human eye can only focus on one thing at a time. This doesn't mean you shouldn't have other things going on in the periphery but if you must pick one thing in each frame/shot/sequence/story what will it be? Suggestion: Isolate the one most important element in each frame/shot/sequence and emphasize that point. For some reason the sequence from your trailer that pops into my mind is where there are three (or is it four?) figures in spacesuits floating through space. They move toward some shape that is hard to see... so, I'm not sure what is going on there. I perceive there is opportunity there. Let's see... They are moving from the foreground into the middle ground with the vast backdrop of space behind them. But there is an object between the background and them. Suggestions here might be to first treat all three figures as one focal point but within that isolate one and have him/her do something that brings the focal point forward into the mid ground even more. They all seem to be doing exactly the same thing at this point. I don't know enough about what that scene represents in the story to really suggest anything further but I know there is a reason they are out there in space. I know each of these people has a name and a purpose. I just don't know what they are. Even if not explicitly stated, the camera knows. Perhaps the emphasis could shift from the three figures to the ship/object they are exploring? What is it that is most important about the shot? That should be (or become) the focus. My feel is that in each sequence there is a moving object and if you isolate that moving object and emphasize it more you'll be golden. Interestingly, in each shot you've made the text itself the focal point and this is competing with the imagery... pushing it to be secondary. This seems to be at odds with your purpose of highlighting specific images to illustrate your story. (Edit: What I originally intended to suggest here is that where possible in animation you want to move your characters/objects through three dimensional space... into and out of the background, mid ground and foreground. For clarity sake, this contrast in movement through space should be exaggerated. Move things into and out of shadow... in front of things... behind things... etc.) I'm straying bit... and I don't want this to seem like I don't like your trailer. You've done a marvelous job in limiting any negative effects of text over graphics... something few people do well. And what you've got right now works very well. I like it even more each time I watch it which is perhaps this is the point I'm trying to get at here. How best to accomplish clarity within the confines of the first viewing? The difficulty I had on first viewing was that I didn't follow along with how the scenes/sequences all hooked up narratively. Perhaps this is because I was too busy reading the text? I recall thinking... cool imagery. But I didn't connect the mining craft in the cave with the later shots that reveal it takes place on a specific asteroid (which I know perceive is the one that blows up). These were isolated elements/sequences that didn't connect because too many things were pulling at my attention. Slowing down and reviewing the trailer over and over it's now making lots of sense to me. For instance, I did not perceive that the pilot of the craft shown at the beginning is also the narrator and it is him that is getting blown up in the explosion. Yes... I am that dense. But after several viewings it is making sense. Is that him (the narrator that "died... or should have died" spiraling in on the debri from screen right to left in front of 'the new friends'? I believe I'm beginning to see where some continuity of motion/tracking could help in clarifying these things. If the narrator is the focus of this piece then... hmmm... perhaps that is the common thread. But how to make sure the focus remains on him in each scene he is in? I will suggest there must be something... anything... that identifies and re-identifies him. This could be something as simple as a color or hue (of a uniform perhaps?) which is unique to him. Everything else would be then be in better contrast and supporting him. It might be very subtle... a slightly lighter or darker hue of uniform than hi companions. Now, I do realize your introduce a lot of new elements along the way. Your story is dense with information so it's hard to capture everything in such a short trailer. The emphasis/focus seems to be: Narrator (Until he is scooped up by the 'new friends'?) New Friends (Here it isn't clear but it seems this could be the tech of the new friends that we are seeing up until the point of stating that time is being refined) (When then transition/time travel 12 Billion years into the past... as the narrator is not there it makes sense that the screen text might be the narrator here) The They (the threat) (and the emphasis then seems to return to the narrator who I now assume is the person standing in front of the screen who appeals to us to state "Now it's our turn to be destroyed". Note that this last wording was lost on me in the sense that I read this as "it is our turn to fight back" versus "it is our turn to be destroyed by those who destroy everything in their path" which is now my current reading of it. This seems to reveal what They look like in a few different forms (one alien like on the screen and one robotic, whose head turns). The final imagery then of the Earth and spacecraft appears but I didn't/don't perceive the threat anymore at this point. (That translates as: You've lost something there) I'm not sure what but I sense that something should progress the threat through this scene. Pending clarification I read that this shot may be showing an unsuspecting Earth that is about to get visited but it's not clear what this final image has to do with the previous scenes. For instance, is this the same general location as the previous one where the asteroid exploded? I don't get the sense that it is but I do sense that they both depict the Earth. I think I had best stop there. One thing I would definitely drop (which I'm sure you already have on your list) is the "coming August 2012" as those type of things immediately date the trailer. It would be better to simply state; "Available on Kindle" or something to that effect. It would be interesting to see the trailer without any text. Or perhaps the text lower on screen (as in subtitling). I hesitate to make that as a suggestion... but that might help determine just how much the text is aiding or abetting general through-line of the trailer. Regardless of what you do... in analyzing your trailer I've found your story to be very intriguing. I actually care about this character now and want to know more about his fate. And that my friend is an accomplishment. Standard disclaimers apply as with all observations and suggestions. These are just the general thoughts that came to me. Rock on Rusty!

Very nice! Excellence use of technology.

Jason, I sent you the password, however, as a member of the v18 Alpha group you should not require a password to access the v18 Beta area if you are logged into the forum. For those that don't see the forum but want to access it it is located here.

As Rusty suggests, if you draw any spline consisting of two Control Points and select the spline via the Comma key the length of it can be measured by Right Clicking and selecting "Measure Spline". A Mac user will need to verify that this feature is available but it should be there. Similarly any distance between two (and three) Control Points can be measured by selecting a spline, Right Clicking and choosing "Plugins/Wizards/Measure CP Distance". In the latter case the whole distance of the spline can be measured regardless of the number of CPs on the spline but if a portion of the spline is selected you'll get direct distance between the two splines plus the distance to the spline just beyond (as if you were measuring that section of the spline. This is handy not only for straight but for curved splines as well. For me the "Measure Spline" option will not show up unless selecting the spline with the Comma key. The "Plugins/Wizard/Measure CP Distance" option appears regardless of how I group/select the spline.

Nice!

You might have been having problems with that but it's looking pretty nice from here! Nicely done.

I think you are probably spot on in the bulk department. I should have backed up my memory with some reference... because it's easy to forget. This especially after I had gone back and forth over whether to suggest that or not. This seems to be his fairly normal 'thick' self: http://home.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/comics/rom...s/firefall2.gif There is at least one cover that has him bulkier/thicker. In other words... I retract my earlier suggestion. Looks like you've got him very well proportioned. I meant to post a direct link to fire video with Alpha Channels. Here it is: http://www.videoblocks.com/search/alpha%20fire/everything/